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Sunday, June 13, 2010

Sunday, June 13, 2010

As much as I love themed and sculpted cakes, I'm still a huge fan of the "just plain gorgeous" style. Perfect colors, flawless design, bows so clever you'd swear they're made of ribbon - they get me every time.

You know, like this:

(I believe this is by Slice of Cake, but the site doesn't seem to exist anymore.Let me know if you have a url for them!)

I literally "ooooh"ed at this cake. Heh. It's the perfect "something blue" for a wedding, don't you think?

I'm in love with this modern tropical design, and not just because it's in my favorite color:

By Wrecks reader Leah K., who - get this, guys - is NOT a professional.(!!)[Update: see more of Leah's cakes on Cake Central here.]

Also, look at the roses, the stripes, the diamonds - even the varying sizes of the ball borders. See how perfect they all are? That's talent. I can't tell you how many otherwise great cakes I've seen spoiled by wonky harlequin patterns or uneven, crumbly-edged stripes.

Tidbit for the day: Piet Mondrian was a Dutch painter who developed an art form called "Neo-Plasticism," which consisted of a white background, black grid work, and the three primary colors. (Thank you, Wikipedia.)

And if you want to go the extra mile, you could even have a Mondrian homage *inside* the cake:

If I had to do it all over again, this would be a top contender for my dream wedding cake. I think it's the flowers. And the pattern. And the round/square tier combination. But really, does love need a reason? ;)

Have a Sweet to nominate? Then send it to Sunday Sweets (at) Cake Wrecks (dot) com!

Oh, and speaking of things I love: one of my favorite charities, Give Kids the World, is participating in the Pepsi Refresh Challenge right now. If they get enough votes, they'll be given $250,000 to renovate the villas in the GKTW Village. (Woohoo!) GKTW is an amazing organization that provides children with life-threatening illnesses the vacation of a lifetime right here in Orlando. (Check out some of the photos on their site; this place is awesome.) They host, feed, and entertain an average of 7,000 families a year - all at no cost to the families.

For a whole week, these boys and girls can be pirates, princesses - or just plain kids! - while enjoying the GKTW village and local theme parks like Disney and Universal.

The Challenge ends June 3oth, and you can vote every day. GKTW is currently in 11th place. Ahead of them are things like weight rooms and a horror film festival. So please - please - vote. Set a reminder, like I am, and vote every day!If you already have a Facebook account, it's a simple click: ten seconds, tops. (If not, some sign-up info is required.)

You guys know I don't do this very often; it's just that important to me and John. So thanks for reading this, and thanks in advance for voting - 'cuz I know you are just awesome enough to help GKTW win this thing. :)

My family was privileged to stay at GKTW in 2007. We had a wonderful time (I've even got some pictures of my son and daughter posing by the larger than life Candy Land pieces, and pretending to be eaten in the giant bowl outside of the ice cream shop). It's an amazing place, and I'm so grateful that you have featured it in Cake Wrecks. Thank you!!!

My family stayed at GKTW back in the early 90s when it was a lot smaller, but still amazing. My sister (who was my family's Wish Kid) now works there as the Reservationist. Fun fact: the cottage that we stayed in all those years ago has been renovated into the ice cream parlor! :) It really brightened my morning to see that you posted this -- thanks, Jen!

Oh, to go back in time to my wedding day and replace my cupcakes (NOT a CCC, mind you) with that amazing hibiscus cake. I moved to Hawaii with my hubby after the wedding, and I so wanted to include that in our theme, but I found it difficult to work into our otherwise geeky schemes without it being gaudy. But that cake is gorgeous.

Voted then ran through the top ten. Let us just say that there is really only two other causes I feel should even be listed. GKTW is the only Southern cause and the only cause giving mental respite for kids with life threatening diseases. Go GKTW!!!

Hey Jen, much as I'd like to vote, the site won't accept Canadians, or I guess anyone but US citizens. The Mondrian cake interior had my brain going immediately...how the ***MEEP** did they do that? Love the site, turned on all my coworkers to it, we start each day with a visit to CakeWrecks. Then nothing that the "poo-flinging monkeys" throw at us seems quite so bad! THANKS!

I just voted. My cousin's former fiancee was killed in a car crash in FL earlier this year. They asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to GKTW. I'd never met her, and had never heard of the charity before, but I sent a donation anyway, because my family was hurting so much. I'm happy to vote for it now and will try to remember to vote every day.

The two Mondrian-inspired cakes just made my morning...and nearly made me faint. The interior-Mondrian one looks like it might be akin to those yummy rainbow layer cookies you can get at Italian bakeries, so I'm nearly salivating now. %)

You may be on to something JE Melton. Not only are there curved shapes (circles, and possibly a cone, I can't tell) which would have totally gotten the baker kicked out of neoplasticism, but there are secondary colors as well.

Jen I'm so pooped that I can't vote for GKTW. It sounds like the worthiest of causes. I love that in amongst all the wrecky goodness you take the time to garner support for all these charities.Well done you, for using your wreckery powers for good!

It's pretty cool that Mondrian is featured in this post. Back in '08, I volunteered for my high school's marching band as a prop team person (I was in the band in high school). The show was based on art, being called "Art at the Speed of Life", and Mondrian was one of the featured artists.Some of it is shown at 00:15 ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qJAK9moRPI )For a potluck dinner, I made a cake to match some of Mondrian's artwork: http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/photos-ak-snc1/v1516/149/89/774760077/n774760077_5173597_7286.jpg

Second, I have to agree with JE Melton that it is a Frank Lloyd Wright (or someone in the Prairie School) design for the cake. The slice is Mondrian, and, yes, I would be delighted to have a piece, thank you.

That first cake is gorgeous BTW. Too bad they don't make fondant that tastes as good as it looks.

Would you please go to the bakery in Selfridges Department Store near Marble Arch and take photos of the lovely little hat cakes and send them in. They are so cute and easy to do, it would be nice to share them. I never thought to take photos on one of my visits.

gorgeous cakes. i love the mondrian inside the cake. it's funny, i am an architect, and when i saw the first mondrian cake i thought: hey a gerrit rietveld cake (he built buildings in 'de stijl' the style of mondrian paintings...

I've had the Mondrian cake at SFMOMA, and they get full credit: not only does it look EXACTLY like that in real life (not just the promotional shot), it tasted fantastic, too. Props.

I spent half the time I was eating it figuring out how to do it. It's very clever, and surely time-consuming, but probably wouldn't be all that hard if you wanted to impress guests at home. They've come up with a design that doesn't take any special ingredients or implements...which impresses me as much as the execution.

on the voting site, though, i find it kind of strange that the number one idea is to build a gym for 1700 kids. while i approve of the idea in general, i do not understand why this idea should be the winner, when there are dozens of ideas that would benefit double or triple the amount of people. (i know this is unrelated to cake, i just wanted to speak my mind)

i love the topsy-turvy cake. and orange is my favorite color as well. :)

I had to show my 7 year-old the Mondrian-inspired cakes. She studied the artist last year in first grade and then did an art project in his style. She actually screamed when she saw the cakes. 7 year-old girls...you gotta love 'em ;)

The Piet Mondrian cake was my favorite, because the theme was carried into the cake layer. Perfect. But if I'm to be tiny bit nit-picky, green and orange are not primary colors. That being said, it's a beautiful cake and I'd love to have a slice. :)

Sadly it seems like the Pepsi voting is one big circle jerk. "Oh well I will vote for your (~~currently the most popular~~) cause in your bracket every day IF you vote for mine in my bracket everyday! Kkthnx for your support!"

We DO have Pepsi in New Zealand, but some of us prefer the "other" stuff! Great thing they're doing, 'tho.I volunteer for Make A Wish in NZ, so any cause like that is close to my heart.My family and I LOOOOVVVEEE Cake Wrecks- the Sweet Sunday's are great (even if we see it on Monday!), but my faves are the actual wrecks. If only I'd taken a photo of my own cake wreck for my son's 1st birthday.....Cheers from NZ, Helen

Here's a fun fact-- the photo of the girl in the tiara featured on this blog, lovingly nicknamed "Princess Alyssa," is the SAME girl that is featured in the video on GKTW's Pepsi Refresh page. She credits GKTW for saving her life!

Oh. My. Gosh. While they were all beautiful, the Mondrian may have been the best- it was simple abut it didn't even look like a cake.... and then when I scrolled down and saw the picture of the inside I actually gasped out loud. Amazing! AMAZING!!

Love your site! Just wanted to point out that Green isn't a primary colour on that grid cake. Still way cool...the creator just messed up or the colour is off on my monitor.Thanks for bringing smiles to us :)

What fabulous Mondrian cakes! I just wish the first had gotten the colors right. I called my son in to show it to him. "Cool, but he didn't use orange and green. And when you post that in a comment, make sure you tell them your son told you this." Bright and humble. I'm so lucky. --SueBE

My younger brother had brain cancer and GKTW gave my entire family a vacation that we'll never forget. This organization not only gives kids the world, it gives the child's family so much more. Some of my fondest memories of my little brother were made on our trip to Orlando. I will always be grateful to this wonderful organization.

This is a question--Is it customary to put a thin or thick layer of actual edible frosting under fondant? The only fondant covered cakes I have encountered have had only enough frosting to adhere the fondant to the cake, which makes it virtually impossible to remove without also pulling off all the frosting. I understand the allure of the pretty, but I have no desire to actually eat any of there tours de force. Please, someone, tell me these cakes are edible!

I voted because the cause really hit home for me. I had Lymphoma when I was a teenager and was granted a wish from the Make-A-Wish Foundation, which is very similar to the GKTW program.

It is a great cause and it really does help families and kids struggling with debilitating disease. So, I voted, and I'll vote daily.

I just wanted to point out though, that I read the other "ideas" and a lot of the ones ahead of GKTW are really worthy causes as well. You seemed to be a bit down on a couple of them because, I guess, they didn't seem AS important or worthy to you. I think if any of these great causes wins, it'll be great.

I probably read it wrong, but it's not right to be negative about people who are trying to get their charities or causes funding to help people, no matter which kinds of people and in what way they want to help them.

I was lucky enough to volunteer at GKTW during my Disney College Program internship back in 2001. I was so scared that it would be depressing, but it was one of the most uplifting experiences ever! I hope they get that money, and I will vote for them everyday until the 30th! I only wish I'd heard of this sooner, so I could have voted more.

I totally agree. There are a lot of amazing causes on the list and I would encourage you to vote for them. Honestly, though, I think the fact that a weight room and launching careers for horror directors winning over aids research and sick kids is kind of silly. I guess I think that some needs are more important than others. Just saying...

I, too, had the Mondrian cake at the SF MoMA! My husband and I went there during our honeymoon last September, and it was truly fantastic--I couldn't resist it because I've always been kind of primally fascinated with his work. We had Mondrian cake and cappuccinos with little heart designs in the froth, and we ate just outside the cafe, where our view was a ~10-foot set of nesting mosquitoes (in iron, I believe). It was a completely fantastic trip!

The hibiscus one is probably my fave of this bunch-- and that was a tough choice, there were some great options. And I'm wowed by the skill of that "non-professional".

I was one of the ones who saw the Mondrian and thought Frank Lloyd Wright. Nice outside, but what MoMA did with the inside-- WOW! I've seen instructions on how to do that with cheesecakes, but didn't realize it could be applied to regular cake. I'm now feeling an itch to experiment ;)

As for the fondant-haters... I seem to recall that when a friend decorated a cake I made for another friends wedding, she flavoured the fondant to match one of the flavours of the cake. I remember the whole thing being delicious so am a bit puzzled by why people are saying fondant is inedible. But, it's been five years since that wedding, so maybe I'm just forgetful.

Oh my gosh. I just looked over the other ideas for the pepsi challenge and some of them seem very worthy. I'm beyond appalled that in first place is a weight room for Bedford High School in MI. I know this area and this is NO school in need. We are NOT talking about an inner city school struggling to get by. Oh no, this is a huge school with plenty of opportunities for extra-curricular activities for its students. Of course this is Michigan so there are parents struggling with layoffs but for the most part this is a very well off area. I know these kids and their parents and they have money to spend on their own kids athletics. I hope people will vote for a cause that actually needs the money. The people of Bedford will be just fine without it.

GKTW has been voted for, shared on my facebook page, and I am going to suggest to my company they donate to GKTW. Every other Friday we have a corporate dress down day, and everyone who wants to dress down donates $5 to whatever charity is being given to that week. Im going to suggest that we even include GKTW's Wish List of needed items in our email annoucement and maybe instead of donating the $5 we could opt for bringing in one of more of the needed items. Such a wonderful organization! Thanks so much for sharing. This is the first time I've ever commented on your blog even though I laugh over it everyday. Thanks again for being so caring. And hilarious :)

I love the 'Tiffany' blue cake. Classic! The sugar Eiffel tower is amazing and the color combo is adorable (though I'm not sure my DH would have let me have a pink cake! LOL). The Mondrian is mind-blowing. If someone handed me a slice I'd really have a hard time eating it!

OMG! These cakes are amazing!! Also, Give Kids The World is an amazing place. My little sis just went this spring. I have never seen her so happy. It was the perfect way to celebrate her beating Cancer.

My jaw literally dropped when I saw the slice of the Mondrian cake! That is the coolest thing. I love the tiered cake too, but the idea of a multi-colored cake (what a surprise to cut into) is the coolest!

I looove give kids the world! My niece made her make-a-wish there last summer and we all enjoyed seeing the joy that place gave here (and banana splits at 7am on her birthday). Thanks for sharing the love for them!

I've set this up in my blog favorites to remember to vote daily. You should remind your readers via FB and twitter and this blog to vote. The money goes to awesome things, not someone's pocket. They've moved up to 10th, the top 2 wins. Shower everyone with reminders to vote to help this get up there. It's a great cause.

I found two links for "A" Slice of Cake: http://www.asliceofcake.com and http://www.asliceofcake.org. It looks like both sites are for UK bakers. Don't know if one of them made this cake. It's not in either gallery.

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